The cultures of two very different Newcastles have been coming together on Tyneside this week as a new theatre project starts to take shape. SAM WONFOR reports.

A theatre project celebrating the differences and common ground shared by two cities which go by the same name stepped up a gear this week.

Two Newcastles is an ongoing piece of work headed up by theatre makers Curious Monkey. The project, which was born during a cultural exchange visit to South Africa last year, has brought together artists and performers from Newcastle upon Tyne and Newcastle, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Up until this week, the artists and producers have been working together in a very 21st century manner, using the communication technologies at their disposal to swap ideas, music and experiences.

But, useful and impressive as the likes of Skype and Whatsapp are, I think we can all agree there’s no substitute for a face to face meeting.

And so it has been proven this week as Velaphi Mthimkhulu, Sphelele Mzimela, Sindi Thwala and Sanele Mzimela from South Africa and Sam Bell, Alice Blundell and Stan Hodgson from the North East met each other for the first time proper in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Having spent three months getting to know each other on screens of varying sizes, the group had spent three days together before I caught up with them at rehearsal space Space Six on Pilgrim Street.

Artists from Newcastle (South Africa) who have teamed up with fellow performers in Newcastle Upon Tyne

And as the lift doors opened on floor six, it wasn’t difficult to find them. I just had to follow the completely joyous singing. I think you’d struggle to find a happier rehearsal room.

“We first experienced and met NADO (the South African performance group) at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa,” explains Amy Golding, artistic director of Curious Monkey. “You could immediately see they were incredible performers and we really wanted to work with them. Then we realised they were from another Newcastle and the idea took shape.

“We worked with the Newcastles of the World Alliance (an organisation which brings together more than 100 places around the world which share the name Newcastle) to bring them over here. It’s the first time they have been out of South Africa.”

Throughout the week, Amy, Curious Monkey’s company manager, Jenny Dewar and the Tyneside members of the cast have been introducing their visitors to their home town’s North East namesake.

“We’ve been all over the city, showing them all the venues and working on a new piece of theatre based on cultural exchange,” says Amy. “We have been talking lots about the commonalities between the two Newcastles. They are both quite industrial places with coal mining heritage.

“We’ve also been exploring the shared experiences and frustrations between artists working in the two places. There’s a lot of similarities there!”

Amy Golding

Amy said she had around 50 applications after throwing out an open casting call for North East performers to be involved with the project.

“I wanted to cast people who had stories to tell from here so there’s a real sense of both places in the piece. The hope for the future is to create a piece of theatre which we then perform in both Newcastles... and who knows, maybe some of the others all over the world.”

A run through of what the group had come up with so far immediately demonstrated the warm friendship which has already developed between the two groups, featuring stories, songs and history from the two Newcastles.

“They just bring this energy with them, not like anything we’re used to here,” laughs Amy. “Nine o’clock in the morning and they start to sing at full tilt. It’s wonderful. I think Newcastle (upon Tyne) will be a much quieter place when they go home!”

After the group go back to South Africa on Sunday, the project will be developed once again through phones and laptops, but the hope is that the Newcastle upon Tyne performers will be able to visit their new friends at some point in the coming months.

“Then next summer we will work more intensively on the piece, with the intention of premiering it at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, where it all started,” she adds.

Artists from Newcastle (South Africa) who have teamed up with fellow performers in Newcastle Upon Tyne

And what have the members of NADO made of their visit so far?

“It has been an honour and a pleasure to meet the Newcastle upon Tyne cast and Curious Monkey,” says Sphelele.

“We’ve learned a lot especially about the different theatre genre of the UK. We want to thank the cast members of the project from UK Sam, Alice, Stan and Micky and our director Amy and Jenny.

“We hope and pray that successful as it has been it will reach other Newcastles, and bring the whole world closer, distant as it may be.”

Velaphi adds: “We have taught each other a lot of things about culture and the theatre. I think the most interesting part is that through our different journeys there is a point where we all meet and share common goals and challenges as artists in the world.

“The most beautiful part of the project is how we met, in Grahamstown on a programme called Remix where UK practitioners came to share skills with us, and when we realised we were all from Newcastle during lunch breaks and over coffee we wanted to form a plan how we could bring us together again.

“And boom, we made that plan and the following year it happened.. every time we meet we always develop new ideas.”